#investment property Puerto Rico

[oceanopalmasdelmar]

A Luxurious oceanfront condominium Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico

Whether you're seeking a permanent residence, vacation home, or investment property, Oceano delivers a unique living experience that's unrivaled in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico.

[heathermatuszek]

From Disaster Relief to Real Estate Investment

Disaster relief and real estate investment are often seen as two distinct domains, each with its own set of principles and practices. However, a closer examination reveals an intriguing intersection where these fields overlap, particularly in the context of rebuilding communities after natural disasters. This convergence presents unique opportunities and challenges for investors who are not only looking to make a profit but also contribute to the recovery and resilience of affected areas.

The Impact of Disasters on Real Estate

Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods, have a profound impact on real estate markets. Properties in disaster-prone areas can experience significant depreciation in value due to the destruction of infrastructure, loss of life, and the exodus of residents seeking safer environments. However, this initial decline can also create a market ripe for investment, particularly for those who understand the long-term potential of rebuilding and revitalization efforts.

The Role of Government and NGOs in Disaster Relief

When disaster strikes, government agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are often the first to respond. Their efforts in providing immediate relief—such as food, shelter, and medical care—are critical in stabilizing communities. However, their role extends beyond immediate relief to include long-term recovery planning. This is where real estate investors can play a pivotal role, working in tandem with these organizations to rebuild housing, infrastructure, and commercial properties.

Investment Opportunities in Post-Disaster Areas

Investing in real estate in post-disaster areas can be lucrative but also fraught with risks. The key to success lies in understanding the specific needs of the community and the timeline for recovery. For instance, in the aftermath of a hurricane, there may be a demand for temporary housing, followed by a need for permanent residences as rebuilding efforts progress. Investors who can identify these phases and align their strategies accordingly are more likely to succeed.

Additionally, government incentives, such as tax breaks and grants, are often available to those willing to invest in disaster-stricken areas. These incentives can significantly reduce the financial risk and increase the potential for long-term gains.

Ethical Considerations in Post-Disaster Investment

While the potential for profit in post-disaster real estate investment is evident, it is essential to approach this opportunity with an ethical mindset. Exploiting vulnerable communities for financial gain can lead to negative repercussions, both for the investor and the community. Instead, investors should focus on creating value by contributing to the rebuilding process in ways that are sustainable and beneficial to the local population.

This may involve collaborating with local governments, NGOs, and community leaders to ensure that redevelopment efforts are aligned with the needs and desires of residents. Investors who take this approach are more likely to earn the trust and support of the community, which can lead to more successful and lasting investments.

Case Studies of Successful Post-Disaster Investments

Several case studies illustrate how real estate investors have successfully navigated the challenges of post-disaster investments. One notable example is the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In the years following the disaster, several investors saw the potential for revitalizing the city’s historic neighborhoods. By working closely with local organizations and taking advantage of government incentives, these investors were able to restore and enhance properties, contributing to the city’s broader recovery efforts.

Another example is the investment in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. The island’s real estate market was devastated by the hurricane, but savvy investors recognized the long-term potential of the area. Through strategic investments in both residential and commercial properties, they have contributed to the island’s recovery and positioned themselves for significant returns as the local economy rebounds.

The Future of Disaster-Driven Real Estate Investment

As climate change continues to increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters, the intersection of disaster relief and real estate investment is likely to become more pronounced. Investors who are willing to engage with this niche market will need to stay informed about trends in disaster recovery, government policies, and community needs.

In the future, we may see more investors adopting a socially responsible approach to disaster-driven real estate investment. This could involve not only rebuilding properties but also investing in infrastructure that enhances the resilience of communities against future disasters. For example, incorporating sustainable building practices, such as using materials that can withstand extreme weather conditions, could become a standard in post-disaster real estate development.

Balancing Profit and Purpose

Ultimately, the key to successful real estate investment in disaster-stricken areas lies in balancing profit with purpose. Investors who prioritize the well-being of the communities they invest in are more likely to achieve long-term success. This approach not only fosters goodwill but also ensures that investments are sustainable and resilient in the face of future challenges.

By viewing disasters as both a crisis and an opportunity, real estate investors can play a crucial role in rebuilding and revitalizing affected areas. This requires a commitment to ethical investment practices, a deep understanding of the local context, and a willingness to engage with all stakeholders involved in the recovery process.

The convergence of disaster relief and real estate investment offers a unique set of opportunities and challenges. For investors willing to navigate this complex landscape, the potential rewards are significant—not just in terms of financial returns, but also in the impact they can have on rebuilding communities and fostering resilience. As we move into an era where natural disasters are increasingly common, the role of real estate investors in disaster recovery will become more critical than ever. By approaching this opportunity with a balanced perspective of profit and purpose, investors can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those affected by disasters while also securing their own financial future.

[rauthschild]

Tonight our usual Monday night webinar was interrupted by an area-wide network spike.  

But here's what's going down just the same: 

Declassified: IRS and Federal Reserve Caught Red-Handed in Massive Economic Enslavement Scam!

This article by the Gazetteller doesn't give you the details, but we have and we will. 

Just yesterday we told you how the Sephardic Jewish bullion bankers of Amsterdam colluded with and backed Oliver Cromwell and his Roundheads in the English Civil War to depose King Charles I and later, James II. 

Their object in doing this was three-fold: (1) end the prohibition against Jews living in England which had been imposed by King Edward; (2) put their man, a Dutch puppet, William of Orange, on the English throne; and (3) establish a bank known as the Bank of England, but owned and controlled by the same Dutch bullion bankers.  

As part of the charter of the Bank of England, William of Orange (their puppet) agreed to keep the identity of the actual backers and shareholders secret, allowed them to practice "fractional reserve banking" (a swindle), and also allowed them to consolidate the so-called national debt (that is, the King's sovereign debt) and extract payment on the principle and interest due on this "National Debt" via direct taxation of the people. 

The Federal Reserve is a replay of the Bank of England swindle, except that it's worse in one respect. 

Consider that the Bank of England deals in asset-backed currency, while the Federal Reserve functions as a dealer in non-negotiable I.O.U.s. 

This means that people in England got a small dollop of silver or gold in exchange for their goods and services, while the Americans got nothing of value at all in "equitable exchange".  

The Bank of England was given a franchise to levy a direct tax on the people of England, independent of the monarchy or the Parliament, either one. 

The Federal Reserve, and later, the trademarked Federal Reserve System operating out of Puerto Rico, was given the same kind of franchise to levy a direct tax on the people of America, independent of any Congress. 

This privately levied tax --- a tax levied by a foreign privately owned bank --- is deceptively called the Federal Income Tax, even though the victims typically receive no "federal income" at all.  

Technically, this infamous tax is defined as a "gift and estate tax" and it is collected by private debt collection agents working for the banks involved in this scam.  

The Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund both have their claws in this dirty business, and operate two (2) private debt collection agencies, one calling itself the Internal Revenue Service (Inc.) and one calling itself the IRS (INC.) respectively. 

The "Federal Income" being taxed by these banks is not any income received by the victims, but is instead credit "income" extended to the Federal Government Subcontractors based on the assets of the victims by the colluding banks. 

The Federal Reserve extends credit based on the victim's labor and physical assets, and the IMF extends credit based on the victim's intellectual property assets. 

The banks give credit to the Federal Government Subcontractors (both foreign corporations in the business of providing government services) based on your assets which are held and mortgaged to provide all this credit to the government subcontractors.

In other words, the banks establish liens and mortgages on your assets to raise credit (that also belongs to you) which they then fork over to the government subcontractors without your knowledge or consent.  

Thus, the banks indebt both you, and the government subcontractors, without investing a penny themselves. 

They indebt you to pay the government subcontractor's debts, and indebt the government subcontractors to pay you back.  

The government subcontractors are corporations so they dump their obligations to you by going bankrupt periodically. And leave you as the "public" responsible for paying their debts. 

They rob Peter to pay Paul and then rob Paul to pay Peter.  

And you play the role of both Paul and Peter. 

The banks unleash their private agents from the Internal Revenue Service and the IRS, respectively, to collect money from you to pay for all the government's borrowing of credit that also belongs to you -- not the banks. 

The government services corporations have unlimited credit based on your assets and credit, and they get the benefit of both, while you take it in the shorts both coming and going, having to pay and pay and pay, simply to keep what's yours.  

According to them, your Mother waived your ownership of your natural birthright estate when you were a baby only a couple weeks old.  

She was never told a word about this, and you were too young to know, but your name was registered as a British Territorial franchise, nonetheless. 

This gives the government services subcontractors the excuse they need to "seize upon" your "abandoned assets" and "salvage them" for the owner (you).  

If you don't pay their accumulated debt, the banks that extended them your credit, seize your assets. 

Everyone but you is happy.  

The banks invest nothing and confiscate all sorts of juicy private assets and impose all kinds of bogus liens and mortgages every year.  They hide behind the IRS and never even appear as Parties of Interest in this filthy little quid pro quo they drummed up in collusion with your friendly government services providers. 

The government service providers have unlimited credit -- even though it's based on your assets and credit raised off your assets without your knowledge or consent, via an unconscionable private "citizenship" contract you know nothing about. 

If you are sick and tired of being the goat in this situation and want the banks and the service providers hauled up on a half shell, get busy and contribute to your own government.  

The United States of North America, Unincorporated. 

[newstfionline]

Thursday, May 11, 2023

‘Leaving Behind All They Own’ as Wildfires Ravage Million Acres in Canada (NYT) Judy Greenwood did not want to leave. But when the evacuation alerts on her phone blared repeatedly and emergency officials knocked on her door, she and her husband loaded their four cats into the car and drove away from their rural hamlet to escape approaching wildfires. In much of the western province of Alberta, this time of year has long been wildfire season. But this year, a large volume of fires in the boreal forest have come early and have been exceptionally extensive, leading the province to declare a state of emergency. As of Tuesday after, about 24,000 people were out of their homes in the sparsely populated, largely northern areas of the province as 88 active wildfires were burning across nearly one million acres. Uncertainty plagues many evacuees. Thick smoke hanging over many areas has made it impossible to determine through aerial surveys the fate of many houses and other buildings. Many of the evacuees were not just concerned about the safety of their families, but also the welfare of the cattle, horses, bison and other animals on their farms.

Students can’t get off their phones. Schools have had enough. (Washington Post) When students returned to school during the pandemic, educators quickly saw a change in their cellphone habits. More than ever, they were glued to the devices during class—posting on social media, searching YouTube, texting friends. So this year, schools in Ohio, Colorado, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, California and others banned the devices in class to curb student obsession, learning disruption, disciplinary incidents and mental health worries. Most school systems already had cellphone bans in 2020, but the pandemic brought more urgency to places with lenient rules or lax enforcement. Some invested in ways to lock up phones away during school hours. Others forced students to keep them hidden away. The stakes are higher after the covid years, with many districts behind academically up to a year or more and doing all they can to help students catch up. Some have come to see social media—accessed via students’ phones—as a major contributor to poor mental health. But many students—who use their phones for listening to music, arranging rides home, checking on grades or assignments—are unhappy with the crackdowns. Some check in with parents or coaches by text. Some think the decision should be theirs, not a school dictate.

May Day Protests in Puerto Rico Show an Economy Still on the Brink (NYT) In Puerto Rico, protests on May 1, a long-held tradition for workers, have become a portrait of a precarious economy. No longer are the annual demonstrations limited to public schoolteachers and other unionized workers demanding better pay and working conditions. Other residents come out now, too—people fed up and frustrated that life on the island keeps getting a bit more expensive and difficult, year after year. Puerto Rico has faced an economic malaise for almost two decades. Austerity measures, imposed by an unelected fiscal oversight board created by Congress seven years ago, have chipped away at public pensions and other benefits. Also vexing are the island’s frequent power blackouts, foreign investors who buy property and displace local residents, and development projects on environmentally sensitive land. “There are so many reasons to protest,” said Luz Elena Sánchez, 73, a former counselor at the University of Puerto Rico, which has faced steep budget cuts.

Ecuadoran lawmakers put President Lasso on impeachment’s path (Washington Post) Lawmakers in Ecuador voted Tuesday to open an impeachment trial against President Guillermo Lasso, one of the few remaining conservative heads of state in South America, setting off a potential political crisis. Lasso, who is accused of embezzlement, is the first president to be sent to such proceedings since the country’s return to democracy in 1979. He has denied wrongdoing; a legislative oversight commission has recommended against impeachment. Eighty-eight members of the opposition-controlled National Assembly voted to continue with the proceedings. That was four votes shy of the two-thirds majority that will be needed to impeach. It’s the second time lawmakers have tried to impeach Lasso.

Pakistan deploys troops to halt unrest (AP) Pakistan’s government called out the military Wednesday in areas roiled by deadly violence following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was dragged from a courtroom and ordered held for another eight days on new corruption charges that outraged his supporters and deepened the country’s political turmoil. After Khan was arrested Tuesday, crowds in Islamabad and other major cities blocked roads, clashed with police, and set fire to police checkpoints and military facilities in violence that left six people dead and hundreds arrested. The military vowed stern action against those seeking to push Pakistan toward a “civil war.”

More than 50 churches burned amid political unrest in India (Baptist Press) Violence erupted against Christians in Manipur, India, last week amid political turmoil and tension between the Hindu population and minority Christian groups. Reports of the attacks against Christians included the burning of more than 50 churches, the destruction and looting at more than 1,000 other buildings, with thousands left homeless and fleeing to find safety, injuries to more than 300 and the death of more than 60.

Asia’s heat waves are a grim sign of the times (Washington Post) In South and Southeast Asia, it’s generally hot around this time of year. But not this hot. Temperature records have tumbled in multiple countries in recent days. Over the weekend, cities in Cambodia and Laos experienced the hottest days ever recorded in either country, with temperatures reaching 44.2 degrees Celsius, or around 112 Fahrenheit, in Vietnam’s northern Tuong Duong district, and 43.5 degrees Celsius, or around 110 Fahrenheit, in the popular Laotian tourist destination of Luang Prabang. From India to the Philippines, officials in various municipalities shuttered schools and urged locals to stay home and ward against signs of heat-induced fatigue. Scorching temperatures melted roads in Bangladesh, and numerous voters fainted as they lined up at polling stations for advance voting in Thailand’s election. Maximiliano Herrera, a climate historian who tracks temperature records, who wrote that the recent wave was “one of the most brutal heat event[s] the world has ever witnessed.” Not only are daytime temperatures breaking records, but so too the measurements after sunset, adding to the misery of countless people seeking respite from the sweltering conditions. India, the world’s most populous country, is also one of the world’s countries most vulnerable to climate change. It experienced a record-breaking set of heat waves last year, while this year it saw its hottest February in 122 years. Temperatures neared record levels in recent weeks, with dozens dying due to the conditions.

Divisive Thai ex-PM vows to return from exile after polls (AP) Thailand’s self-exiled former prime minister said Tuesday he wants to return home by July, making his declaration less than a week before the country heads to polls in which his daughter is a frontrunner. Thaksin Shinawatra tweeted for the second time this month that he would like to come home to see his grandchildren. He said he is prepared to face justice, including several convictions on charges including abuse of power and corruption. Thaksin, 73, was a populist prime minister when he was ousted by a military coup in 2006. He fled Thailand to escape a prison term in several criminal cases, which he decried as politically motivated. The government of his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was also toppled in a 2014 coup led by the current prime minister and candidate in the May 14 election, Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Challenges for ASEAN (AP) Alarm over Myanmar’s still-unfolding deadly civil strife, including an armed attack on an aid convoy, and China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea are expected to challenge Southeast Asian leaders’ commitments to non-interference and consensus decision-making as they meet in Indonesia this week. Top diplomats of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations convened Tuesday in the resort town of Labuan Bajo to finalize the agenda ahead of the two-day summit of the 10-nation bloc’s heads of state. Founded during the Cold War in 1967, ASEAN has avoided getting entangled in major-power competition as a bloc. But its diverse members are often involved in partnerships and disputes with superpowers. They range from authoritarian Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, which are closely aligned with Beijing, to liberal democracies like the Philippines, which is Washington’s oldest treaty ally in Asia and recently allowed an expansion of American military presence in the country, to China’s outrage.

As more women forgo the hijab, Iran’s government pushes back (AP) Billboards across Iran’s capital proclaim that women should wear their mandatory headscarves to honor their mothers. But perhaps for the first time since the chaotic days following Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, more women—both young and old—choose not to do so. Such open defiance comes after months of protests over the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s morality police, for wearing her hijab too loosely. While the demonstrations appear to have cooled, the choice by some women not to cover their hair in public poses a new challenge to the country’s theocracy. The women’s pushback also lays bare schisms in Iran that had been veiled for decades. Authorities have made legal threats and closed down some businesses serving women not wearing the hijab. Police and volunteers issue verbal warnings in subways, airports and other public places. Text messages have targeted drivers who had women without head covering in their vehicles. Some women said they’ve had enough—no matter the consequence. They say they are fighting for more freedom in Iran and a better future for their daughters.

Israeli-Palestinian fighting intensifies (AP) Palestinian militants fired hundreds of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Wednesday, while Israel pressed ahead with a series of airstrikes that have killed 21 Palestinians, including three senior militants and at least 10 civilians. A state-run Egyptian TV station announced that Egypt, a frequent mediator between the sides, had brokered a cease-fire. But the truce efforts appeared to falter as fighting intensified late Wednesday, with neither side showing any sign of backing down. It was the heaviest fighting between the sides in months, pushing the region closer toward a full-blown war. But in signs that both sides were trying to show restraint, Israel avoided attacks on the ruling Hamas militant group, targeting only the smaller and more militant Islamic Jihad faction. Hamas, meanwhile, appeared to remain on the sidelines.

Battles shake Sudan's capital as power struggle escalates (Reuters) Fighting in Sudan's capital escalated on Wednesday with fierce clashes and air strikes, witnesses said, as delegations of rival military factions continued talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at securing a ceasefire and humanitarian relief. Residents reported ground battles in several neighbourhoods of Khartoum between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as well as heavy gunfire in the north of Omdurman and the east of Bahri, two adjacent cities separated from Khartoum by the River Nile. The conflict has created a humanitarian crisis in Africa's third largest nation by area, displacing more than 700,000 people inside the country and prompting 150,000 to flee to neighbouring states.

Lost woman survives 5 days in the wild on a bottle of wine (Washington Post) A woman has survived five days stranded without water in the Australian wilderness, resorting to drinking the only liquid refreshment she had on her: a bottle of wine. Lillian Ip had set out on a vacation to Bright, at the base of the Victorian Alps. But when the 48-year-old failed to check in with relatives on April 30, local police said her family raised the alarm. Rescue authorities scoured the remote, hilly terrain around 270 miles northeast of the Victorian state capital, Melbourne, for days. Her car was finally spotted at the end of a dirt road by a police helicopter Friday. Ip doesn’t drink, but she told police she had a bottle of wine in her car that was intended as a gift for her mother. “That got her through,” Wodonga Police Station Sgt. Martin Torpey said in a statement. “She used great common sense to stay with her car and not wander off into bushland, which assisted in police being able to find her.”

[college-girl199328]

As the clock hits 11:30 a.m., children spill out from behind the chain-link fence at Escuela Rafael Rivera Otero, joining parents waiting on the sidewalk. The elementary school serves a working-class neighbourhood in the centre of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

There's little remarkable about the two-storey tan and peach building — except that it's been without electricity for more than eight weeks. As a result, when the lunch bell rings, the school day begins.

"The Department of Education says the only options you have are to close the school or for the kids to finish in the middle of the day," says Sandra Vargas as she waits for her daughter. "It's been many months. The kids are in school without electricity. Please, if you can help, help us."

Power outages like this are just part of daily life in Puerto Rico. The U.S. territory, home to 3.3 million people, has one of the least reliable electrical systems in the developed world. It's subject to breakdowns (in this case, a blown substation on school property that triggered a lengthy dispute about who was responsible for the repairs) and liable to catastrophic collapse when tropical storms and hurricanes roll through.

The headquarters of the company that are supposed to be fixing the threadbare grid is only a 15-minute drive from Escuela Rafael Rivera Otero. LUMA Energy — 50 percent owned by Calgary's ATCO Ltd. — has been handed a 15-year, $2-billion contract to manage Puerto Rico's grid and oversee the modernization of the island's electrical system.

But the company charged with keeping the lights on has become a lightning rod. Customers complain that blackouts have become more frequent and last longer. And when the power does come back on, the voltage surges, frying appliances and causing fires.

There's a proposed $800-million US class-action lawsuit over an April 2022 island-wide blackout caused by a fire at a substation, in which the company failed. Meanwhile, the cost of electricity has more than doubled, leaving Puerto Ricans to pay some of the highest rates in the world.

LUMA's Canadian CEO, Wayne Stensby, has become a target when he is out in public. At one point, the legislature tried to have him arrested for contempt in a legal fight over company documents.

More recently, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi demanded his resignation — to no avail. There are regular demonstrations against the company on the streets. Bad Bunny, Puerto Rico's global superstar, cursed the firm from the stage.

"We have the most horrible electrical system. I tell you, it's shit," the singer said. "I do a tour around the world, and the only place I have to put 15 industrial generators is here." LUMA has been in charge of the grid since June 2021, and the company says progress is being made, pointing to the installation of 3,800 steel poles and the replacement of 10,000 streetlights.

"People here need a stronger system. They need to have more resilience and trust in their system. And that's why we've been making investments," says Mario Hurtado, LUMA's chief regulatory officer. "Unfortunately, it takes longer than any of us want it to. And certainly longer than customers want it to."

The company declined a CBC News request for an interview with Stensby. What semblance of public confidence there was in LUMA seems to have been badly shaken by the events of the past hurricane season. On Sept. 18, Hurricane Fiona swept across the western corner of the island as it began tracking north toward Eastern Canada. The Category 1 storm brought lots of rain and damaging winds, but it was nothing compared to past disasters, like Hurricane Maria in 2017. Yet the lights flickered out and stayed out.

"I think we were all shocked," says Ruth Santiago, a community activist and lawyer. It was quite a surprise to find along the southern coast or, you know, south of the southern coast. And then it blew in for a bit as a Category 1 hurricane to take down the whole electric grid. That was incredible."

LUMA officials defend their storm response, noting that 90 percent of customers had power restored within 12 days of the storm. They also point out that they inherited a badly broken system. Puerto Rico's grid was devastated by Maria, a Category 4 storm that killed thousands and triggered an island-wide blackout that dragged on for almost a year in some communities. And it was hardly in pristine condition, to begin with.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) has been through a decades-long cycle of cost-cutting, deferred maintenance and rate freezes, all while accumulating $9 billion US in debt. The utility, which remains responsible for power generation on the island, filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and is trying to work out a deal with creditors.

"I would describe the electrical system as fragile and vulnerable. And that's because of years and years of mismanagement," says Alejandro Figueroa, infrastructure director for Puerto Rico's Financial Management and Oversight Board.

Hopes for a quick fix aren't likely to be realized. "I think people have assumed it's possible to fix 30 years of mismanagement in 18 months, and I think that's unrealistic. Getting the system to where it needs to be will take many years, if not decades."

That's certainly the case in Aguadilla, on the island's northwest coast, where some neighbourhoods were without power for 45 days post-Fiona. Mayor Julio Roldan takes a visitor through narrow alleyways, pointing to power poles decorated with flowers.

He says he spent the first days after the storm on the phone, fruitlessly pleading with LUMA to send repair crews. When they failed to arrive, he formed his brigades of ex-PREPA workers and sent them into the streets to clear fallen trees and replace downed lines.

"We had to fix everything here, OK? They didn't come," says Roldan. "I don't know what happened, if they were scared or what's going on. The federal government gave a lot of money to LUMA to improve the system, to fix everything. And we didn't get any response."

Instead, Roldan says he received pushback from the company about his ex-PREPA "shark teams," which escalated to threats of legal action. "They said they were planning to arrest me, and I told them I was planning to send them my pin location so they could come to arrest me right then," says Roldan. "I love my city. I love my people. And no matter what I do, my people will be OK."

LUMA disputes Roldan's account, saying it never threatened him with arrest. But the company acknowledges it did warn many mayors of trying to fix the damage on their own, noting that they were legally required to co-ordinate all such plans with the utility, saying it was a matter of safety for its employees and the public.

"We made clear to them the dangers of working on the electrical system without certified personnel," says Hurtado. "Those linemen had to be certified every year." The former PREPA workers have become a sore point on the island. LUMA ended up hiring 1,200 of the public utility's almost 6,000 employees. Its current workforce is one-third smaller than PREPA's was and less familiar with the quirks of the aging grid.

Robert Garcia Cooper spent 20 years as a metering specialist with PREPA. But like thousands of his colleagues, he says he couldn't afford to take a LUMA contract with a loss of seniority and increased benefit costs.

Garcia Cooper says, "we said no to all the veterans we left." After returning to school to finish a master's degree focusing on microgrids, he worked as a master electrician with another government agency, only to find his services weren't required.

"When I arrived, I was told I would be working as a janitor because the electrical work was subcontracted," says Garcia Cooper. "The government did it this way to force us to abandon our benefits. It was a Catch-22."

The soaring cost of power is also stoking public anger. Since LUMA officially took over the grid 18 months ago, there have been seven rate hikes. The company says the increases have been driven by the cost of oil and gas burned by the island's generating stations. This is a part of the system that it does not control.

In the mountain town of Adjuntas, Sharon Cedeño and Israel Sierra are struggling to keep their corner grocery store afloat. Their power bills now top $300 US a month, a payment expense on an island where the median household income is just $22,000 — almost $50,000 less than on the mainland United States.

"We are poor people … young people trying to succeed. They make our lives tougher day by day," says Cedeño. The couple will soon transition to solar energy with the help of a local community group, Casa Pueblo.

"We want solar power as the primary energy source and LUMA as the alternative energy source," says Arturo Massol, Casa Pueblo's executive director.

"Every time the electricity was out or came back, our equipment got damaged," says Robyn Russell Orama, the hospital administrator. Patients haven't been affected, but the costs have been steep for the 10-bed hospital, which serves 12,000 residents.

"We had equipment damage in our imaging system and labs," says Orama. "A simple machine can cost you more than $10,000 to $13,000, plus all the reactive and everything that comes with it."

The switch to solar makes sense. Puerto Rico averages more than 2,800 hours of sunshine every year. But renewable energy makes up just three percent of the island's power mix.

It's a focus that causes activists like Ruth Santiago to despair. "Areas like Puerto Rico are in this cycle of destruction, repair and reconstruction of these centralized systems like transmission and distribution systems that keep getting knocked down."

LUMA says solar is part of its plan, but only after the transmission and distribution network is made safe and reliable. That in itself is a mammoth task. The company's grid management contract is just a fraction of the estimated $26 billion that it will cost to fully modernize the power system, a bill that will be paid by the U.S. government.

LUMA says solar is part of its plan, but only after the transmission and distribution network is safe and reliable. That in itself is a mammoth task. The grid management contract is a fraction of the estimated $26 billion it will cost to modernize the power system. The bill will be paid by the government.

This means lots of opportunities for outside firms — potentially including LUMA's parents, ATCO and Quanta Services. Puerto Rico's government recently announced plans to privatize power generation.

Under current rules, ATCO and Quanta Services bid on that work. But LUMA, which helps determine the winners and losers and oversees all the contracts, can propose changes to those conditions — subject to existing government regulations.

Both parent companies are keeping their options open about future projects on the island. But a recent scandal involving ATCO has raised concerns with some critics in Puerto Rico about transparency and fairness.

Last year, ATCO agreed to pay a $31-million penalty levied by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) over a 2018 power line project in Jasper National Park.

Stensby, then head of ATCO's electric division, approved that contract. And he was among senior management members who "deliberately buried critical information to hide it from the Commission."

CBC News reached out to Stensby. He declined to comment on the AUC decision. An ATCO representative said the company has "learned and improved" from the Jasper project penalty.

"We have acknowledged that we made regulatory and administrative errors. The reasons for the errors were complex and were not solely attributable to."

The spokesperson added that ATCO "fully supports" Stensby and his LUMA team and their work in Puerto Rico. Back in San Juan, outside the Escuela Rafael Rivera Otero, frustrated parents and staff suffer from much smaller fiscal problems.

"LUMA came, LUMA left us without power, LUMA passed the responsibility to the Office of Public Building Management," says Lydimar Garriga Vidal, a school social worker.

A CBC News request to tour the building and speak with the principal was denied. But immediately following that request, the school board hired a private firm to carry out the repairs that LUMA says were never its responsibility.

[cvakwpr]

Property in Aguadilla, PR https://goo.gl/maps/MCYVFQx8eySJoujf6 land for Sale: $695,000 Excellent location on Carr 110 Bo Aguacate, Aguadilla, an area with a lot of traffic and development. It is close to supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations, restaurants, beaches, military base (Ramey), Schools, Universities, International Airport, Industries such as Honeywell, Lufthansa, Pratt and Whitney and Carr 107, Carr 495, and Highway #2. The Aguadilla Area is being exploited and the reality is that we need more residences. This project would be perfect for investors and contractors. Estimated construction cost between 3.4-3.7 Million. DON'T MISS THIS OPORTUNITY!!! #buyandsellrealestate, #realestate, #ventas, #casas, #home, #share, #newlistings, #RealEstateBroker, #realestateagent, #homeforsale, , #ThankYouLord, #miami, #forsale, #island, #tuagentedebienesraices, #homebuyers, #waterfront, #puertorico, #waterfrontrealestate, #realtorsofinstagram #buyrealestate #sellrealestate #investrealestate, #investor, #investment, #investor, #invest, #investing, #investments, #investmentproperty (at Aguadilla, Puerto Rico) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjWCswTu5Z9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[bitcofun]

This is a viewpoint editorial by Jeremy, a consultant to Escape to El Salvador which is a neighborhood of specialists who help expats in acquiring residency and citizenship in El Salvador. Over the last couple of years, a great deal of difficulty has actually been made about so-called "crypto-colonizers" relocating to the establishing world and making the most of budget-friendly real estate and other facilities offered by disadvantaged residents. The Washington Post, Business Insider and even the New York Times reported from Puerto Rico, tossing around terms like "gentrification," and associating this brand-new class of rich, globe-trotting business owners with words like "utopian," "idealist," and the slimier "evangelist." Now, I'm not here to safeguard any specific person or how they made their cash, and even what they prepare to do with it. Rather, I wish to drill into one, really particular structure for these kinds of allegations: that the increase in costs is because of require. Ostensibly, that's partially real. As anybody who has actually taken an introduction to economics course can inform you, costs are set by the law of supply and need. Each of these, in turn, can be affected by a range of aspects. For the functions of this post, I wish to focus entirely on property. Real estate has a supply issue: They aren't making anymore land and all of it is currently promoted. Beyond a couple of eccentric efforts to raise islands from the sea, if you desire a location to live, you need to purchase it or lease it from somebody. The seller is going to choose just how much they want to accept for it based upon a range of aspects: mainly its area, however likewise its usage and the quality of its enhancements. You can break this down even further and think about the view, the legal jurisdiction, the appropriate tax program, the soil quality of the land, its ease of gain access to, possibly whether it consists of uncommon or beneficial minerals or other natural deposits and lastly, whether there might be a preservation or historic component to its assessment. On the need side of the formula, there are simply as numerous subtleties. A purchaser will choose just how much they want to pay by thinking about all of the above, plus one extra reality: You got ta live someplace. Passing by a location isn't a sensible method unless the atmosphere of a highway overpass or the distinct scent of the dry spot behind the dumpster in the street downtown truly speaks with you. There is one extra element that taxes the minds of both purchaser and seller that has actually triggered realty costs to increase more than any other: financialization. As an idea experiment, picture what the expense of a home would be if its worth were totally based on its energy as a home. Simply put, just how much would you want to pay to keep the rain from leaking on your head when you sleep, or for having a safe location to raise a household? Just how much do the products of its building add to its cost? Size is very important, in addition to visual appeals and so on, however certainly you'll concur that the rate asked for a lot of houses significantly surpasses its energy worth entirely as a home. The rest of its cost has more to do with its energy as a monetary property. That may be the main chauffeur of cost in the majority of genuine estate markets today. How did we get here? Our existing worldwide economy is created around an easy concept: By slowing deteriorating the worth of cash through inflation, you promote financial investment and development. Sounds simple? The issue is that many people aren't smart sufficient to buy a complicated market, so buying realty ends up being a proxy for a long-lasting shop of wealth. This sort of system is naturally unsteady offered the fate of every fiat currency that has actually ever been attempted. Eventually, every company of currency catches the desire to print ever-expanding quantities, resulting in run-away inflation.

Possession rates increase in accordance with the supply of cash and whatever winds up being too costly to purchase towards completion of the cycle. If it weren't apparent, we're at completion of the cycle. Costs of whatever are setting records and it is humanity to wish to designate the blame for the reality that own a home, which when appeared to be an obtainable objective, is now a remote dream. If you browse and the only folks that appear to be able to manage the house you want you had are the nouveau riche, then they can appear hassle-free to blame-- much more so if they are flagrantly awful individuals. And this is the essential part: They aren't to blame for the increasing rates. Blaming them for the unaffordability in the market resembles blaming a child for its pregnancy. Fraudsters aren't the illness, they're a sign. So now that you're completely depressed, you may be asking, "What can we do about it?" The response is easy, although to those disadvantaged residents it might appear counterproductive. The response is to embrace bitcoin as rapidly as you can. Change yourself, your household, your community, and your nation over to a bitcoin requirement without hold-up. Just by taking the capability to print cash out of the hands of the gentility, can we put an end to the hyperinflationary death spiral we are now experiencing. If you remain in an establishing nation, among the very best methods you can start with this is to connect to that bitcoin immigrant you may have fasted to blame. Understand that if they invest bitcoin on a home in your neighborhood, for instance, that's an excellent method to get bitcoin streaming through the regional economy, which's what adoption appears like. There is no faster way here and the shift will be rough. Unless we change to a deflationary currency that does not produce the reward to financialize properties like genuine estate, the scenario will get even worse. This is a visitor post by Jeremy. Viewpoints revealed are totally their own and do not always show those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine. Read More

[artificialqueens]

Galactica, Chapter 74 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Previously: Galactica shut down for the holidays, and Bianca turned Courtney’s shitty day around.

This Chapter: Christmas Eve. Fame plays hostess for Juju and Detox’s family, Bianca and Courtney jet off to Puerto Rico, Violet spends the evening with Sutan, Raja and Raven, and Pearl thirsts for Dahlia.

***

“Patrick?” Fame called over her shoulder, a big porcelain vase on the table in front of her.

“Yes darling?” Patrick was sitting in an armchair, his finger holding his place in the crime novel he was reading, Charles curled up on the floor in front of the crackling fireplace.

“What do you think of this?” Fame took a step back, showing off the greenhouse bouquet she had arranged, their gardener bringing them in after his rounds, snow covering the ground outside. “I was hoping they could be the centerpiece for tonight?”

They were upstate, in what Karl had jokingly started to call The Farm one summer. In reality, it was a mansion with several acres of land, the incredible garden the reason for the nickname, though Karl had insisted it was because upstate New York was basically Hicksville.

Fame and Patrick had bought it forever ago, the property supposed to be a real estate investment, but when they had visited it to oversee the remodel during the fall of the year they got it, Fame had fallen in love instantly.

She adored The Farm, loved the open land, loved the space that reminded her of her childhood’s free roam, loved that Charles had all the space in the world, the property so big that no one ever bothered them while they were there.

“I think that’s lovely dear,” Patrick smiled, taking a sip of the spiced eggnog the chef had made. “Juju’s going to love that.”

“Good.” Fame smiled, a moment of happiness washing over her body. Juju and Detox were coming up for Christmas, bringing their children along, the bedrooms already prepared for them.

When Detox and Juju had accepted her invitation to join them upstate, Fame had been overjoyed, spending the holiday with her friends instead of family so much more enjoyable, and best of all, it required absolutely no flying.

Unlike the Manhattan townhouse, The Farm was decorated in a traditional Christmas red and green, a fresh cut actual pine tree set up in the parlor, copious amounts of gifts for Kelly and the twins already under the tree.

“I’ll go check up on the chef.” Fame put down her garden shears, quickly drying her hands on her tea towel, collecting the scraps for the compost out back. “Make sure they’re cooking the Brussels sprouts correctly.”

The night's dinner was a wild lemon and honey salmon, a spinach salad with goat cheese and beets, the dessert spiced tea-poached pears for the adults and a sundae bar for the kids.

“And the mac and cheese?” Patrick raised an eyebrow.

“Of course,” Fame smiled. “I specifically instructed the chef to go for the mega size Kraft. The little ones should know it’s Christmas too.”

In reality, Fame had requested a complete restock of what Patrick lovingly called the kids cupboard, a whole section dedicated to the Sanderson kids, Kelly always going straight there the second she stepped foot inside. Just because she was a teenager who rarely attended family events anymore didn’t mean that Fame would forget about her.

“The sleds are ready to go too.”

Fame had never wanted kids of her own, but she loved and adored her entire chosen family, especially the little ones. Spoiling them had been one of her favorite pastimes since they’d met, when Kelly was still a chubby little baby with a passion for sticking jewelry into her mouth.

Today, she’d planned a lovely afternoon of fun in the snow for when everyone arrived. Fame had even bought a new snow set, the pure white Prada demanding to go home with her, her new mittens lined with rabbit fur so she could truly get down and dirty while building the snowman she hoped they had time for.

It was one of the most liberating things about The Farm, the acres of land meaning that there was a sense of privacy she could never feel in the city.

“And did you go for the wood?”

“Of course I went for the wooden sleds,” Fame rolled her eyes, Patrick so often playing stupid on purpose just to rile her up. “The antique German design.” There was no way Fame was going for anything but the best, and Julia and Owen deserved the best sledding experience money could buy, gourmet marshmallows and Jacques Torres hot chocolate already in the kitchen ready to go.

“Mmh?” Patrick smirked, taking another sip of his egg nog, and Fame went over to kiss him, just to wipe it off his face.

***

“Kelly Sanderson! Don’t you forget your scarf!”

“Yes mom,” Kelly rolled her eyes, but snatched her scarf, putting it around her neck before walking towards the house with her gym bag over her shoulder, and Juju couldn’t help but smile.

They were emptying out the car, the drive upstate a complete pain since she had been nauseous the entire time, Detox driving while Kelly was in the front seat, so Juju had been alone in the back with the twins because someone had to keep an eye on them, and Kelly refused.

“Okay champ,” Detox looked at his son who was still in the car, Julia standing on the snow-covered ground in her Frozen jacket. “I’m going to unbuckle you, but that doesn’t mean that you can-“

“Bye dad!!”

“Fuck!”

Juju laughed as Owen ran as fast as he could towards the front door, his sister right behind him.

“We got them!”

Juju turned to see Patrick call from the door, a big smile on the man's face, Fame right behind him.

“Your death wish!” Detox yelled, and Juju smiled before digging back in, her husband quickly gathering enough suitcases to make his first trip up to the house, Juju taking a moment to enjoy the blessed silence of private property upstate.

She fished her phone out of her handbag, a sense of relief washing over her when she saw that Bianca had texted. They had only spoken once last week, when Juju called her to apologize for the dinner party pile-on, and Bianca said it was okay, but she also seemed a bit rushed and distracted. Juju was hoping that it was just work, that she wasn’t genuinely mad, but she couldn’t be sure, especially since she hadn’t responded to any messages the night before. Looking at the messages today, though, it really did seem like they were good.

JUJU: Hey there. Thinking of you, hope you’re good.

JUJU: To be clear, I was thinking of you because I got up to take a very large dump.

JUJU: :-D

JUJU: Hehe

JUJU: <3

JUJU: OK goodnight! xo

JUJU: Merry Christmas Eve, lady! I love you.

BIANCA: Love you too, kiddo. Sorry for being MIA last night.

BIANCA: I’m taking Courtney to PR for Christmas, we’re heading to JFK right now.

BIANCA: Tell the monsters that I owe them some presents when I get back.

JUJU: Oh wow!! Have fun!!!! (And trust me, they will collect on those presents, lol)

She sighed, slipping the phone back into her bag, thinking that perhaps she should keep Bianca’s vacation plans under wraps for now. She turned towards the house, watching Fame on her knee, unlacing Julia’s shoes. Yes, better not to be the messenger for this particular news.

***

“So...is it everything you imagined?” Bianca asked, a wry grin on her face. She’d been a bit shocked when Courtney revealed in the car that she’d never flown first class before. She thought that surely someone as cute and charming as her had been slipped a free upgrade or two by a flight attendant trying to hit on her.

“It’s perfect.” Courtney tilted her champagne glass towards Bianca for a toast, her eyes taking on that slightly glazed, naughty look as she sipped on her third glass.

“Perfect, huh?” Bianca asked, clinking her glass lightly. “Then I guess you don’t want another present…”

“Wait, no...I do!” Courtney exclaimed, suddenly looking so serious that Bianca couldn’t hold back her cackling laughter.

Drunk Courtney was turning into one of her favorite people, the comically exaggerated faces she made when her defenses were down too cute for words.

“Oh, well in that case…” She reached into her bag and pulled out a box wrapped in sparkling pink and gold.

“How did you fit that in there?” Courtney asked, letting Bianca take her glass so that she had both hands free for the large gift, examining it closely. “Are you Mary Poppins?”

“Yeah, that’s me. A g-rated singing nanny.”

“Hot,” Courtney giggled, and Bianca gave her a stern look. “What, I like sexy nannies. Maria Von Trapp...Fran Fine?!”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Bianca shook her head, amused.

“Oh no, am I being naughty? Are you gonna spank me?” Courtney’s eyes glittered.

Well, this was an unexpected turn. Perhaps something to explore when they weren’t flying thirty thousand feet over an ocean, surrounded by people.

“Open your present.”

“Yes, ma’am…” Courtney said, making Bianca laugh again as she tore into the package, first pulling off the excessive ribbons and bows (Joslyn really shouldn’t be trusted with that kind of thing) and then the glittery paper. She lifted the lid on the box, revealing 5 brand-new designer bathing suits, all from this year’s hottest resort collections. Her eyes lit up. “Ooooh, wow! This is much better than the plan I had.”

“What was your plan?”

“I was just gonna go without a suit,” she said, shrugging a bit as she fluttered her lashes.

“Huh.” Bianca’s brow furrowed in mock disappointment, adding, “Yeah, no, I like your plan better, give these back.”

She reached over and attempted to swipe the box from Courtney’s hand, but Courtney clutched it greedily to her chest.

“No! They’re mine now!”

Bianca laughed, leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek, just as Courtney grabbed her face and went right for her lips.

“Thank you, B. I love them. I love you.”

“I love you too, sunshine.” Bianca rested her forehead against Courtney’s with a happy sigh. “And I can’t wait to see you in them...or out of them.”

***

“Are you sure it’s okay that I’m not helping?” Violet asked. She was sitting on a silver bar stool and feeling absolutely useless, her fingers drumming on the marble breakfast bar.

Raja and Raven’s apartment looked like something from a catalog, big art pieces hung everywhere, fresh flowers in vases even though it was December. Violet had spotted the heavy oak Raja preferred, and the green and gold she gravitated towards, but it was clear that Raven was the main decorator.

“Of course,” Raven smiled, flashing her teeth over her shoulder. She was standing at the counter, filling up the sink so she could rinse off their dishes.

“Let her have the fantasy,” Sutan grinned, putting the empty tray he was carrying down, Raja right behind him. “This is the one time of year Raven pretends she’s the perfect housewife,”

“Fuck off.” Raven flipped him off, “I’m always perfect.”

When Sutan had told Violet he usually spent Christmas Eve with his sister and Raven, Violet hadn't been surprised. What had surprised her was when Sutan told her that Raven insisted on cooking every year. It had been a simple meal, roasted chicken and potatoes with gravy, but it did really seem like Raven had made it herself, Raja in charge of buying the dessert.

It was the first time Violet had celebrated Christmas Eve with anyone since she was 17, and while it was very different from what she usually did, which was wine and a movie, it was nice.

“You are, Princess,” Raja smiled, pressing a quick kiss against her hair as she dropped their dishes. “Now, does anyone want another drink?”

“Me,” Raven grinned, and Violet had to fight not to show the surprise on her face when Raven just grabbed the dirty dishes. She had never thought Raven would be someone who did chores, who’d willingly get her hands dirty.

“I’m driving tomorrow, so no,” Sutan was leaning against the counter, a smile on his lips. He was wearing a blue turtleneck sweater, and Violet had to admit that he looked stupidly hot in it.

“Actually…” Sutan paused, narrowing his eyes. “Raven, what’s going on with your nose?”

“Her nose?” Raja tilted her head, looking at her fiancée. “What do you mean?”

“It looks different. There.” Sutan pointed with his pinky at the edge of her nose.

“She seems normal to me.”

“Can’t you see it? Here, I’ll adjust- Let me push her head back.“ Sutan was just about to reach for Raven’s chin, when he was cut off.

“Hey!” Raven pulled away, “Crazy agent, I’m in the room.” She raised an eyebrow, her tone sharp, “I’m trying a new makeup technique.” Raven pushed Susn’s hand away from her face. “Is that a problem?”

“Of course not…”

“Good,” Raven rolled her eyes. “Now can we please get this done so we can watch a movie?”

“Sure.” Sutan rolled his eyes too, grabbing a dish towel before bumping his hip against Raven, making her yelp, laughter filling the room.

Violet let out a breath of relief she hadn’t even realized she had been holding, the knot in her stomach slowly releasing. She was probably overreacting, a childhood of tense Christmases just under her skin, but it had almost felt like Raven and Sutan were about to get in a fight.

Violet took her glass, a smile on her face as she took a sip of her wine, the uncomfortable feeling thankfully already fading.

***

Earlier, Courtney had enjoyed a healthy buzz from all the first class champagne, but then she fell asleep for half of the flight, and by the time they got to the resort, she felt refreshingly, deliciously sober, closing her eyes to feel the warm, fragrant ocean breeze blow in through the windows.

As Bianca directed the hotel staff with their suitcases, Courtney wandered over to the glass doors, eyes widening when she peered out at the terrace.

“B! Omigod, is this an infinity pool?” She threw open the doors and stepped outside, where a table was set up with a romantic, candlelit dinner. But even better, what was clearly a private infinity pool, which made her so excited she squealed with glee. “I’ve seen pictures of those but I never thought I’d see one in person!”

Bianca appeared in the doorway, a smirk on her face as she replied, “It’s not an infinity pool. It’s an infinity hot tub. The pool is down those steps.”

Courtney giggled, already slipping off her shoes to feel the heavenly warm water. She sat down at the edge of the hot tub, letting her legs dangle into the water while she gazed out at the gorgeous view, the gentle waves under a night sky sparkling with stars. When she mused last week about wanting to go to the beach, she certainly wasn’t imagining a private beach at this posh resort. But for once, everything in her life had worked out perfectly. All because of Bianca, who was now chatting with the hotel manager about their meal.

“Es esta la comida? Todo es vegano, verdad?”

“Si, of course. I hope everything is to your liking, Señora.”

“Es perfecto. Gracias.” She pressed some bills into his hand, adding, “Feliz Navidad!”

As soon as he left, Bianca turned back to Courtney, head tilting curiously when she took in her enraptured expression. “What?”

“I just think it’s sexy when you speak Spanish,” Courtney explained, biting her lip.

“Oh yeah? That’s what gets you going? My shitty high school Spanish?” Bianca asked, strolling towards her, dimples deep in her cheeks.

“Uh huh. I like the accent. Say more things…” Courtney leaned back, lashes fluttering, as Bianca laughed and pretended to think real hard.

“Hmm…” She settled in beside Courtney at the edge of the hot tub, slipping an arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “Dónde está la biblioteca?”

“Ahh, yeah, that’s it,” Courtney growled, and Bianca laughed some more.

“Tu eres una gringa loca…”

“Uh huh…wait, what does that mean?”

“It means you’re a crazy white girl.”

“Oh. Yeah, fair.” Courtney cupped Bianca’s face in her hands, pulling her in for a kiss. Things were just starting to get a little heated when Courtney’s phone began to ring. She had a brief moment of panic before realizing that it was her personal phone, not her work phone. And since very few people made phone calls anymore, she was fairly certain that it would be her parents.

Coming out to her parents had been strange. She knew already, from how they reacted to Ben’s coming out when he was just 13, that they would be fine with her not being straight. But Ben hadn’t been dating someone nearly 20 years his senior.

So she was nervous, more than she’d have admitted, when she finally told them everything that was going on in her life--that she was dating, or rather in love with, a woman.

A woman who was, incidentally, a famous fashion magazine editor many years older than her.

Turned out, it was even more of an anticlimax than she anticipated, Mum giving her some bland platitudes about how love is love and Dad telling her to make sure she takes her vitamin D.

Which at first seemed like an innuendo, but actually was just him being his usual health-conscious self. Either way, they seemed both unsurprised and unbothered by the whole situation, which was a relief, she supposed. It was strangely reminiscent of when she was 16 and she’d announced that she wanted to graduate from high school early and go to America for University. Measured, unemotional support.

Courtney reached for her bag, pulling out the phone and answering, her family’s face popping up on the screen as she tried to figure out the time difference. It must already be Christmas morning in Brisbane.

“Hi, Mum! Happy Christmas!”

“Hello darling!” her mother cooed, elbowing Dad and Ben on either side of her, who she’d clearly forced into position, sitting on the sofa with the Christmas tree behind them, the picture of suburban bliss. “Happy Christmas!”

“Happy Christmas, love!” said Dad, pretending that he wasn’t thoroughly engrossed in whatever crime novel Courtney could see open on his lap.

Mum poked Ben again with her sharp elbow, and he scoffed.

“Yeah, yeah. Happy Christmas. How’s your rich girlfriend?” Ben asked.

“Great. How’s single life?” Courtney shot back, and Ben opened his mouth in mock offense.

“You fuckin’ cunt-”

“What was that, dickhead-”

“Kids!” Mum interrupted, putting on her best scolding voice as Courtney and Ben both broke out into giggles.

“She knows I’m kidding, Mum. Calm down.”

“I’m perfectly calm,” Mum said, rolling her eyes. “I’m just trying to have a pleasant conversation with my daughter, thanks very much.”

“Thanks Mum,” Courtney said, kicking her feet in the warm water. “It’s fine, though. It wouldn’t be Ben if he wasn’t giving me shit.”

“That’s called love, ya slag! Appreciate it!” Ben cut in, and Courtney blew him a kiss.

“Well darling, we just want you to know that we miss you terribly, but we’re so happy that you’re having a nice vacation. Right?”

“So happy,” Ben echoed, sticking out his tongue.

“And we’ve been talking about it, and-” she patted Dad on the thigh, then hit him harder when he didn’t say anything.

“Oh, yes. Ahem. We’ve been talking about planning a trip to New York next year,” Dad said. “How does that sound?”

“That sounds fantastic!” Courtney exclaimed. She hadn’t seen any of them since a quick trip to Australia last spring, before she moved to New York.

Bianca sat down beside her again, silently handing over a glass filled with ice and some kind of milky liquid along with a sexy wink, just out of camera range.

“Guys, check out the view!” While her family exclaimed over how beautiful it was, Courtney took a small sip of the drink, eyes widening with delight. “Omigod, this is like Bailey’s but better. Cheers!”

“Cheers,” Bianca murmured back.

“Hi, Bianca!” Mum called loudly. “Thank you for the wine!”

Apparently, Bianca had sent a whole case of high-end wine to her family home--and even signed both of their names on the card, although her family knew for damn sure that wasn’t something Courtney could afford.

“Um...hi. You’re welcome,” Bianca grinned, giving a quick, friendly wave and then leaning back out of frame, tilting her head towards the table with their food. Courtney nodded, reaching over to squeeze her thigh.

“Mum, thanks for calling. But we should go, we have dinner here and it’s getting cold.”

“Alright my love,” Mum said, smiling warmly. “Have a wonderful night. So long, Bianca!”

“Bye, Mrs. Jenek. Merry Christmas,” Bianca said, and Courtney giggled behind her hand.

“Mrs. Jenek…” she snickered, and Bianca grimaced, then put a hand on her hip.

“Well...shut up, I’m from the South. That’s just what we do.”

“You could at least say ‘doctor.’ She has a Ph.D.”

Bianca facepalmed, and Courtney laughed again, kissing her on the cheek. It was adorable how much she cared about making a good impression on Courtney’s family. “I’m just kidding, she doesn’t care about that stuff.”

“I care, though.”

“I know.” Courtney nuzzled into Bianca’s face. “And I love you for it.”

***

“Hey! I saw that!” Trixie gasped, pointing at Kim, who had just skipped a square on the Monopoly board.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kim smirked, leaving her car piece as she took another cookie.

They were all gathered around the coffee table, mugs of hot cocoa and Katya’s Christmas cookies on plates, a crackling fire playing on the TV, music playing from the speakers.

“You’re cheating,” Trixie looked around. “Say something!”

“I didn’t see anything, sugar butt,” Katya smiled, her knitting needles in hand. She was weirdly good at Monopoly, Katya dominating the majority of the board. When Trixie had asked her how, and what her strategy was, Katya had simply grinned and told him it was simply how it was done in Soviet Russia.

“Pearl, what about you?”

“What?” Pearl looked up from her phone. “Oh. Sorry. No.”

“Who are you texting?”

Pearl smiled. “No one.”

“Not again,” Trixie groaned, not even interested in whatever girl had managed to capture his best friend’s attention for more than two seconds. “Pearl please. It’s Christmas.”

“Relax Trix,” Pearl grinned, leaning over so she could press a kiss against his cheek. “You’re the only one for me.”

***

PEARL: Was just thinking about you...so I thought I’d say hey ;)

DAHLIA: Oh yeah?

PEARL: Uh huh

DAHLIA: What were you thinking about?

PEARL: Mostly I was hoping to be suffocated by your thighs real soon.

PEARL: Your thighs are the stuff of dreams

DAHLIA: Right now, my thighs are stuck to the plastic cover on my grandma’s couch...but thanks.

PEARL: Hot

DAHLIA: Lol

PEARL: Can I tempt you to sneak away at some point in the next few days? Without pissing off the fam, of course

DAHLIA: Possibly...I have like 40 cousins, so no one would even notice I’d gone

PEARL: Fan fucking tastic

PEARL: Hey guess what?

DAHLIA: You’re horny and wanna fuck?

PEARL: Yes

DAHLIA: Patience, darling

PEARL: But also...it’s midnight. Merry Christmas.

DAHLIA: Shit, I missed mass again!

DAHLIA: For the 7th year in a row!

PEARL: Hahaha

PEARL: Oh god. My roommates are singing happy birthday to Jesus.

PEARL: With a fucking cake and candles

DAHLIA: LOL, HBDJ

***

[lifepros]

#12950

You can avoid paying taxes legally on capital gains by using a self directed roth ira

Wondering how to avoid paying taxes on cryptocurrency investments? Here, we discuss the tax advantages of investing in crypto with a traditional or Roth IRA. Paying taxes on crypto is a major hassle, requiring you to report every trade, purchase, sale, or exchange to the IRS.

The good news is there’s an easy way to invest in crypto tax-free. And you don’t have to renounce your citizenship, start a business in Puerto Rico, or open an offshore life insurance policy.

It’s called a crypto IRA, and it works like any traditional or Roth IRA, providing you a tax-advantaged or tax-free method for investing in virtual currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana.

Before explaining how to avoid paying crypto taxes with an IRA, though, let’s take a look at the basics of cryptocurrency taxes.

What You Need to Know About Crypto and Taxes Crypto tax laws themselves aren’t actually that complicated.

Like other assets—such as gold, stocks, or bonds—the IRS classifies crypto as property. As a result, you don’t pay taxes on Bitcoin until you sell or trade it. (Keep in mind that this also applies to using profits from investing in crypto to purchase non-crypto items.)

Reporting crypto earnings on your taxes, on the other hand, can be confusing and time-consuming. For starters, you’ll need to fill out several tax forms—including the 1040, Form Schedule D, and Form 8949, to name a few. This includes reporting every sale or trade, the amount you originally paid, the sale price, and the date of the sale.

To make things more difficult, while many crypto exchanges allow you to download transaction records as an Excel or CSV file, not all are so helpful. Some, for example, only provide your transactions for the last month or quarter—if at all.

Whatever the case, the burden is on you to correctly report each and every taxable event. This includes:

Sales of crypto Trades for other coins Exchanges for USD or other currencies Purchases using crypto Additionally, if you are participating in decentralized finance (DeFi) yield farming or staking and earn tokens as a result, your earnings are subject to taxation as income.

Determining Capital Gains vs. Capital Losses Because the taxable value of property is based on capital gains or losses, you only pay taxes on cryptocurrency if you see a capital gain or other income event. These include staking rewards, yield farming, and air drops. In the event of a capital loss, individual filers can deduct up to $3,000 from their taxable income, depending on things like income and tax rate.

To calculate a capital gain or loss on a sale of crypto, subtract the price you paid (called the tax basis) from the amount you sold it for.

For example, let’s say you bought a single Bitcoin for $4,000 in early 2019 and sold it for $34,000 in 2020. In this case, you would have owed the IRS taxes on the $30,000 capital gain.

The same applies to trades. Because in this case, you’re essentially cashing in on the value of one coin to put it toward another.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Cryptocurrency Capital Gains Tax Time is also a factor when it comes to crypto and capital gains taxes, as it determines what tax rate you will pay. If you sell Bitcoin for a profit within a year of purchase, it’s considered a short-term gain. However, if you wait more than a year before selling, it’s considered a long-term gain.

Predictably, the tax rate differs between long-term and short-term capital gains for crypto taxes:

Short-term capital gains are taxed as part of your regular income. Depending on which of the seven income brackets you fall under, you’ll pay between 10% and 37%. Long-term capital gains taxes are not considered part of your normal income. As a result, you typically pay lower tax rates than you’d pay for short-term capital gains: Either 0%, 15%, or 20%, with most people paying either no tax or 15% tax on long-term gains. Clearly, there’s a tax advantage to HODLing. But what if you could avoid paying taxes on crypto altogether? Or at the very least, pay less in taxes while letting your potential returns compound over time by reinvesting?

Enter the individual retirement account (IRA).

How to Avoid Taxes on Cryptocurrency with an IRA By investing in cryptocurrency with an IRA, you can take advantage of the tax benefits traditionally associated with retirement accounts.

Like 401(k) or 403(b) accounts, IRAs are retirement investment accounts that offer special tax advantages—if you wait until age 59 ½ to make a withdrawal or qualify for an early withdrawal exception.

While we’ll be focusing on the two most common, be aware that there are four types of IRAs:

Traditional Roth Self-employed pension (SEP) Savings incentive match plan for employees (SIMPLE) It is worth noting, however, that SEP and SIMPLE IRAs work the same as traditional IRAs, only with higher yearly contribution limits and different rules around income.

How to Invest in Crypto Tax-Free with a Roth Crypto IRA Roth IRAs have been attracting a lot of media attention lately. While these reports have prompted questions about wealthy investors using Roth IRAs as tax shelters of sorts, companies like Alto are helping ordinary investors realize the true potential of these retirement plans.

Why are so many wealthy investors housing massive investments within Roth IRAs? Unlike traditional IRAs, which we’ll discuss in a moment, investments in Roth IRAs are not tax deductible. Instead, they offer a potentially greater benefit: Roth IRAs allow your investment to grow completely tax-free, so long as you wait until six months after turning 59 to make your first withdrawal and you’ve had a Roth account for at least five years. Not to mention, there is no requirement to begin taking minimum distributions at age 72, as with other IRAs.

When it comes to crypto, this is huge. No matter how many times you sell or trade crypto, or how much your investments grow, you won’t pay a dime in taxes—either in capital gains or when you go to withdraw. Even if you had invested $1,000 in Bitcoin in 2011—the equivalent of around $3 million today—had you done so within a Roth IRA, you would owe nothing in taxes.

So with tax-free withdrawals, why would anyone invest in a traditional IRA?

Roth IRA Contribution Limits Explained When Congress created Roth IRAs, they were aware that tax-free withdrawals could be abused, so they placed income caps on contributors. And while it is possible to roll over another IRA, 401(k), or 403(b) by way of what is called a backdoor Roth IRA, you can’t actively contribute if your income is over a certain level. You’ll also need to pay a one-time tax.

In 2021, individuals whose modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is $140,000 or more (and couples whose MAGI is $208,000 or more) are ineligible to contribute to a Roth IRA.

How to Invest in Crypto Tax-Advantaged with a Traditional Crypto IRA Just because traditional IRAs don’t offer tax-free withdrawals doesn’t mean you won’t benefit from investing in Bitcoin through a traditional crypto IRA. It could work out to your advantage.

If you currently have a larger income than you anticipate during retirement, you may benefit from tax-deductible investing up front and paying income tax on your distributions. That’s because you may be in a lower tax bracket at the time of withdrawal.

Not only that, contributions to a traditional IRA are tax-deductible. That means you can write off up to $6,000 a year—$7,000 a year if you’re 50 or older. In other words: Tax-deductible crypto investing.

Pros & Cons of Cryptocurrency in an IRA If you’ve been wondering “How do I avoid paying taxes on Bitcoin?” a traditional or Roth crypto IRA may be the best way for you to invest in digital assets. Here are the pros and cons of investing crypto in an IRA.

Pros: Investments in crypto via a traditional IRA are tax-deductible. Only pay income taxes upon withdrawing from a traditional IRA—which, depending on your income at the time of withdrawal, could mean a lower tax rate than had you paid a capital gains tax.* Never pay any taxes—capital gains or income—with a Roth IRA.* Reporting IRAs on your taxes is quick and easy compared to reporting crypto gains. All you have to report are your IRA contributions, and your custodian will also help with tax reporting. You can roll 401(k) or other IRA investments into a CryptoIRA account, allowing you to exceed the yearly IRA contribution limit. Cons: Until recently, with products like Alto CryptoIRA™, investing in crypto through an IRA was accessible only to the savviest of investors—and usually required a sizable investment. You can’t “cash out” your crypto investments before turning 59 1/2 without paying an early withdrawal tax penalty. You can’t move current, non-IRA crypto investments into an IRA. Yearly investment contributions are capped at: $6,000 a year ($7,000 if you’re age 50 or older) in traditional and Roth IRAs. $13,500 a year ($16,500 for those age 50 or older) in a SIMPLE IRA. The lesser of $58,000 a year or 25% of your employment income with an SEP IRA. You can’t write off capital losses within a cryptocurrency IRA. *Assuming you wait until 59 ½ years of age or meet the requirement for an early withdrawal exception. Additionally, you must have a Roth IRA account for at least five years before making a withdrawal.

Here is an example of a site where you can use a self directed IRA

[oceanopalmasdelmar]

Luxurious oceanfront residences Puerto Rico

Whether you're seeking a permanent residence, vacation home, or investment property, Oceano delivers a unique living experience that's unrivaled in Puerto Rico.

[politijohn]

Get to know Beto O’Rourke

Continues to appropriate Mexican nickname “Beto,” which was given to him specifically to pander to / trick Hispanic voters when running for office, despite criticism from the Hispanic community

Used his political power to help his millionaire father-in-law gentrify poor Hispanic communities with a racist plan that “relocated” poor Hispanics to make way for property investments made by wealthy Republican donors

Opposed Obamacare, tried to cut social security, and attacked labor unions to appease Republican donors

Generally voted against Democrats so much he was in the top fifth of lawmakers voting against their own party, voting with Trump a third of the time even though he represented one of the most solid blue districts in the country

Ran the most expensive congressional race of all time with immense establishment & celebrity backing. Still lost to the guy who lost to Trump

Voted with Republicans to deregulate Wall Street so many different times that I have to keep typing more words to hyperlink

Voted two different times to block federal funding for abortions

Sided with Republicans lying about “death panels” to undermine the ACA and abolish the IPAB (panel meant to lower Medicare costs for seniors)

Does not support Medicare for All and voted for Republican legislation that makes it easier for states to discriminate against pre-existing conditions

Voted with Republicans for Trump’s second round of tax scam legislation

Broke his own pledge to not accept money from fossil fuel industry, bringing in nearly half a million dollars, and then refused to sign another while backtracking on climate crisis legislation

Voted with Republicans to lift the 40 year-old oil export ban multiple times, voted to speed up the exports, and voted against Democratic legislation to ban new drilling

Voted for 20 of the 29 military spending bills since 2013, opposing even a 1% cut in spending, all while bringing in more money from defense lobbyists than any other candidate

Supports Trump’s attempted right-wing coup in Venezuela

Is fine with people keeping assault weapons

Voted for mandatory 15 year sentencing for teens attempting to send/receive a sext

His campaign manager is a corporate lobbyist for Bank of America, Humana, Pfizer, and Juul who set the rules for the Democratic primaries/caucuses and licensed party voter files for profit

His senior advisor is a corporate lobbyist for private prisons, Keystone XL, and Blackstone

The #1 recipient of AIPAC lobbyist money in the House, he voted for largest military aid package for Israel in history and opposes BDS, ignoring the plight of Palestinians

Voted for the “Blue Lives Matter” bill that turned police into a protected class, making assaulting an officer akin to a hate crime

Backed Republican legislation to weaken the vetting process for border patrol hiring as they continue to commit human rights violations

Helped a Republican beat who would’ve become the first queer woman of color in Congress

Profited off of IPOs while in Congress

Used campaign funds to pay his and his wife’s own company

Supports charter schools while married to a charter school leader

Does not support making public college tuition free

Backed by finance industry-funded thinktank Third Way and Neera Tanden of CAP, which is funded by banks, insurance companies, arms manufacturers, and the United Arab Emirates

Voted to fast-track TPP and wants to preserve NAFTA

Cosponsored and voted for a Republican bill that made it harder to pursue auto lenders for unlawful discrimination and weakened protections for home mortgage borrowers

Voted to create the unelected Puerto Rico oversight board that cut pension benefits, the minimum wage, and wants to cut its budget by 1/3

Voted for FOSTA/SESTA which has been devastating for sex workers

Inflated his own donor numbers in an attempt to appear ahead of Bernie

Has a criminal record that includes DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and burglary arrests

He promised us he wouldn’t run in 2020

[prosolarpr]

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[aetherbunny]

Here we go. Olympic AU stuff

This is stuff that was developed to potentially make it into the fic, that was cut out of the fic or I needed to develop it in order to write something that DID make it in lol. The fic itself is here, just in case you’re seeing this post first...

Minor characters cut from the story were Gabe’s Olympic roommate Alexander “Sandy” who was a bit of a weirdo and followed Gabe around making it hard for him to spend time with Prince.

Uriel is barely mentioned as the fencer Gabe knows and not by name. She models to better fund her fencing, and Gabe has been in front of the camera a few times himself. they met that way. She was going to be Fish’s original target until Gabe introduced her to Mikey.

The Mikey and Fish bits were unfortunately cut. I could not decide what I wanted Mikey to be like and she was really inconsistent in her characterization. So to keep her well done I had to keep her short.

Lyle (Ligur) is the the member of the Judo team FIsh references. Harry (Hastur) runs the marathon. They’ve been together one way or another for as long as anybody can remember. 

ON to the childhoods, they were developed slightly, because maybe there would have been calls home or mentions of family... going to put this under the cut because it’s so much...

Dorothy “Fish” Fischer, was an only child for a while and then wound up with a younger step-brother. Other than that she had a remarkably average childhood. She realized she was a lesbian pretty early on and so did her parents quite frankly. No real issue when she finally came out.  She’s known Prince since they were in high school. They were low key bad girls, skipping classes, smoking under the bleachers, the occasional fight. Ya know. Her mom had a problem with that, and made her pick an extracurricular to take up some of her time She picked swimming and the rest was history.

Elizabeth Prince is second last in a family of 7 kids. I was actually “challenged” to make up her whole family. My pre- reader called my bluff on something, and I had to. More on all of the Princes later.

Ezra Fell had a nice peaceful childhood! He’s an only child and his parents love him very much! His mom is a seamstress and his dad does woodworking. They participate in a lot of historical re-enacting events and make props and costumes for the local theater! Mr. Fell used to weight lift when he was younger and Ezra thought he’d give it a try. For the time being he still lives with them and will still do historical re-enactments! Adam and Them live near the Fell’s and occasionally show up to the historical things and ask increasingly silly questions about whatever is going on. The organizers have little patience for it but the Fell’s like the kids and keep them out of everyone else’s hair.

Anathema has a gigantic extended family. Some of them are, uh, in a mostly harmless, self contained cult? Agnes did still write that book after all but none of it is actually coming true. Her immediate family knows a lot about the “cult” but doesn’t participate. Her family is also still incredibly rich, due to some excellent investing choices. Her parents are lovely, attractive people who dote on their daughter. Anathema is also the only one of the gang competing for a country they don’t live in (full time)! Adria has dual citizenship in Puerto Rico/US so I can imagine Anathema does too. With that she chooses to compete for Puerto Rico (after qualifying of course).

Newt is very much the same. He lives with his mom, his dad was just never in the picture, but the two of them are perfectly happy. Ms. P is a grade school teacher, and the kids and parents love her. After Newt met Crowley she might as well have had a second son, and she’s perfectly happy with that.

Crowley had a pretty bad childhood. His mom died when he was very young and his dad was a piece of shit and left him to fend for himself most of the time. He became very resourceful even if it involved petty theft. He saved Newt from getting beat up (by getting beat up himself) and then they became nearly inseparable. Crowley just calls Ms. P mom, since she basically was.

If Crowley couldn’t be with the Pulsifer’s for whatever reason he was with “Auntie Tracy” or Shadwell. They broke up the fight that introduced Newt and Crowley.

Auntie Tracy is pretty much exactly her book counterpart. When she was “Busy” Crowley would go across the hall with Shadwell who only pretended to dislike him. Shadwell would never tell him but he actually knew Crowley Sr. and thought he was an asshole and it was no surprise he didn’t care about his kid. So Shadwell “begrudgingly” taught Crowley things he’d need to get by.

Both Crowley’s surrogate families knew about each other, and Mom and Auntie had a sit down about everything and worked it all out.

Crowley moved out of his house as soon as he could and moved into the apartment building with Shadwell and Tracy. The Dowlings also live in the apartment block. They’re ex-pats who moved for Mr. Dowling’s job. They’re not bad parents per-se but they could be a lot better. Their son Warlock has taken a shine to Crowley and hangs out with him sometimes. Crowley knows what it’s like to be a kid uncomfortable in his own home so he lets Warlock in whenever.

Crowley works as a mechanic when not diving, he has a pet ball python named Eden he spoils, and he’s obsessed with astronomy. He loves  kids and happily volunteers for things at the school when they don’t have enough parents. He’s ambivalent about his gender and sexuality.

Gabriel Herald also had an unfortunate childhood. His dad was in the military and had every hope his son would follow in his footsteps. Gabe, and his mom were not so keen. Gabe was a gentle affectionate kid and she knew that did not make her husband happy. Mr. Herald was a short tempered, verbally abusive man and took most of it out on his wife. Mrs. Herald was a kind woman who loved her son and did everything she could to make sure he never got the brunt of his father’s temper. They moved to the UK when Gabe was young and lived off base.

However it happened they met the Fell’s and spent a lot of time there. Ezra was too young to know what was going on and Gabe never said, but the adults were well aware. The Fells gently talked Mrs. Herald into considering divorce or at the very very least therapy for everybody. Luckily she took their advice to heart. They moved back to the states before the Fell’s knew what happened.

She did get her and Gabe some therapy and was eventually able to divorce her husband. Gabe met Michelle, who was in the US with her military family, at a catholic high school. She had a fairly normal childhood with no huge tragedies. She and Gabe actually dated for just a little while before she realized she wasn’t into men. They proceeded to fake date the rest of high school so the faculty wouldn’t catch wise. Her family took a little adjusting when she came out but accepted it in the end. Gabe and Mikey have been close friends ever since.

Gabe got into boxing right about the time of his parents divorce. His therapist suggested some kind of physical activity and teenage Gabriel wanted to be able to protect his mom in the event his dad got physical…

Mrs. Herald eventually remarried a very kind man who loves her (and Gabe) very much. And Gabe couldn’t be happier. None of them are in contact with Mr. Herald any more.

There was going to be a little scene where Gabe calls home to talk to his mom. Because he’s a mamma’s boy if that wasn’t obvious lol.

Now, for the entire Prince family…I was “required” to give them all names…

Martha and David Prince are now retired and have been for a while. David was a postal carrier, Martha worked at a nursing home. They never pushed their kids to do anything, just supported what they enjoyed. They have no idea how ALL their kids wound up so successful and even with all their love and support they’re overwhelmingly serious and introverted. They’re slightly relieved their youngest is happy to be “something boring.”

Arthur has numerous paintings hanging in fine art museums. He lives on a little farm and cares for his animals in between paintings.

Katherine (Kath) is a sought after architect with her own firm. She’s the second most athletic, keeping in good shape and occasionally running marathons.

William (Will) is a heart surgeon, Martha and David live in his detached cottage.

Charles (Chuck only to his family) Is a property lawyer, and relatively laid back compared to his older siblings. He’s more introverted than serious.

Benjamin (Ben/Benny) is quite friendly and outgoing compared to his siblings. He’s a violin virtuoso and has played around the world.

Elizabeth (Lizzy ONLY to Eleanor) is a world champion archer several times over, and has multiple Olympic gold medals. She teaches lessons but her teaching style drives all but the most dedicated away. She’s not cruel or aggressive, she’s just incredibly blunt.

Eleanor (Nora) is the most bubbly and outgoing of the family. She’s in school getting her higher mathematics degree and will likely become an accountant. She and “Lizzy” are especially close. There was going to be an ongoing text conversation between the two.  Nora is also pretty good friends with Fish.

Katherine, William, and Charles are married with kids. Elizabeth and Gabriel get married a few years into their relationship. Ben is in a long term relationship, but neither of them are in a hurry to get married. Arthur and Nora are single. Arthur has no desire to marry and Nora is just too busy with school to devote time to dating.

Also I know this is in the back of some of your minds, the medal breakdown!

Fish and Newt take bronze

Crowley, Gabe and Anathema get silvers

Ezra and Prince take Gold, Ezra nearly breaking a world record for his lift!

and sadly the UK women’s volleyball team does not medal at all.

[11graphs]

Comparison of Top 4 Largest U.S. Industrial REIT

We continue the review of the industries that make up the REIT sector. Here are the 4 largest companies in the Industrial REIT.

Prologis is a real estate investment trust headquartered in San Francisco, California that invests in logistics facilities, with a focus on the consumption side of the global supply chain. As of December 31, 2019, the company owned 3,840 buildings comprising 814 million square feet in 19 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. It serves over 5,000 tenants.

Public Storage is an American international self storage company headquartered in Glendale, California, that is run as a real estate investment trust (REIT). It is the largest brand of self-storage services in the US. There are more than 2,200 Public Storage self-storage locations in the US, Canada and Europe. It also owns 42 percent of an office parks subsidiary, sells packing supplies, and provides other services.

Duke Realty is a major United States real estate investment trust, based in Indianapolis, Indiana. It mainly owns industrial warehouses.

Extra Space Storage is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah that invests in self storage units. As of December 31, 2019, the company owned and/or operated 1,817 locations in 40 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, comprising approximately 140 million square feet of net rentable space in 1.3 million storage units. It is the 2nd largest owner of self storage units in the United States and the largest self storage property manager. The company has solar installations at many of its properties and was listed on the "Top 25 Corporate Users by Number of Solar Installations" by the Solar Energy Industries Association. - *Remember this isn't investment advice, just general information only. Any investing involves risks.* - ❤️ Like | 👇 Save | 📣 Share | 💬 Comment 🏆 Many thanks for your support 🏆 - 👉Follow @11Graphs for more👈 👉Follow @11Graphs for more👈

[dolorespapst636-blog]

Yabu Pushelberg Introduces Residential Interiors To The Park Hyatt New York

Park Hyatt Phu Quoc - WikiLand -

https://wikiland.vn/du-an/park-hyatt-phu-quoc/

Salon is situated on the resort's Lobby level and gives the most effective in reducing, styling, coloration providers, shampoos, blow-outs and up-dos. The opposite great factor in regards to the SPG Best Rate Guarantee program is that in case you discover a decrease price on a pre-paid or non-refundable price, you may submit a declare first before having to commit a booking. It doesn't matter what your pursuits you will discover lots to do at the Pearl and you can relax all trip long if you want. This put up is part of our Italy trip collection. My largest concern is the extent of cleanliness. Based on the pattern measurement, survey results have a margin of error of ±3% at a 95% confidence stage. It was positioned on the far finish of the hall and featured double doors, which is how you realize you will have a nice room. If reserved by means of the official Hyatt web site or mobile application, welcome snack will probably be provided in the room.

The room feels somewhat cramped due to the amount of furniture. However, the business journey sector is anticipated to grow in the approaching yr as a consequence of the growth within the economy. Solid unit growth is more likely to have aided Hyatt Hotels' (H) revenues within the third quarter of 2019. Yet, its earnings might have suffered because of greater bills and cutthroat competitors. 1 Eligibility for complimentary breakfast could vary at Hyatt Place lodges exterior the United States. In Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India, complimentary breakfast might not be out there to all members. There are greater than 315 Hyatt Place locations in Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Germany, Honduras, India, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Thailand, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States. On a mixed basis, Park’s portfolio now consists of 66 lodges with over 35,000 rooms positioned primarily in prime city heart and resort locations. Following this acquisition, our portfolio consists of 66 premium-branded hotels and resorts with over 35,000 rooms primarily located in prime metropolis center and resort areas.

Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. is the second largest publicly-traded lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) comprised of a geographically diverse portfolio of hotels and resorts with significant underlying actual property value. The NAACP released a report this week analyzing the office diversity of 4 of the United States’ largest resort companies—Hilton, Hyatt Hotels Corp., Marriott International and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts—concluding little progress has been made since the organization's 2005 evaluation. JW Marriott Seoul presents the JW Luxury Suite Moments bundle for visitors searching for a personal party space. Park Hyatt Seoul provides the Summer on the Park package deal for friends on the lookout for a simple staycation. When we arrived at the Park Hyatt, a heat vacation spirit was present in every single place from the valet to the doorman to the other guests. The resort has a number of other amenities that guests can use and take pleasure in throughout their stay. Listed on the Grab & Go menu supplied at the poolside barbecue station, the burger may be ordered alongside other salads, sandwiches and low-calorie options.

The Grab & Go menu will probably be accessible till the tip of September. In line with the examine, respondents from the Northeast selected the "Atlantic" breakfast menu as their favourite, while respondents from the Midwest selected the "Heartland" menu and respondents dwelling on Western half of the U.S. Recently, the Hyatt Place model unveiled a new elevated regional breakfast experience at Hyatt Place accommodations throughout the U.S. The Berlinale, not unlike town which hosts the festival, is all the time a journey of discovery, and i dare to assume the experience is comparable for all who come right here. Though most of the servers right here never worked in superb dining prior to the hotel’s opening, much of the management comes from Four Seasons Hotels. The management contract was created between Hyatt and Towa Real Estate Co Ltd, an affiliate of TOYOTA Group. Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kolkata. The resort is just a short stroll from St. Stephen's Cathedral, and about an 18-20 min. The Bean, Museums, etc. are all additionally a 15-20 minute stroll or a fast Uber away.

Cash Rate or are on an award keep will take pleasure in this breakfast complimentary with their Hyatt Place keep. Continental breakfast was served, with no sizzling options. For all different friends, the breakfast will be out there for purchase1. Thomas J. Baltimore, Jr. will continue to function Chairman of Park’s Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. Hyatt Hotels Corporation is happy to announce the appointment of Thomas Blundell as General Manager of Hyatt Centric Times Square, New York. Park is also pleased to welcome two former Chesapeake Trustees to its Board of Directors, Thomas A. Natelli and Thomas D. Eckert, increasing the composition of Park’s Board of Directors to 10 members. The acquisition expands Park’s presence across several high-progress U.S. San Francisco, Boston, Denver, Miami, San Diego and Los Angeles, and accelerates Park’s strategic targets of upgrading the standard of its portfolio and attaining brand, operator and geographic variety. Aviara Golf Club, which is open to the public, overlooks the Batiquitos Lagoon ecological reserve and is the only San Diego course designed by Arnold Palmer.

[srinergy1-blog]

Solar Energy Solutions for Home Puerto Rico

Solar Energy Solutions for Home Puerto Rico

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 Solar for Businesses Puerto Rico  The cost decrease of changing to a sun powered vitality answers for mechanical relied upon various variable components including area, time of action, industry, and size of offices. Organizations that will profit the most from changing to business sun based are ones with enough space to construct a properly estimated framework to tackle electrical power vitality needs. It requires enough daylight to create sunlight based power for private and business, and a heap profile that requires vitality at pinnacle hours. Introduce Solar vitality answers for the home can lessen or take out your introduction to rising power charges you can utilize an endless measure of sunlight based vitality for your home needs. The segment of your vitality utilization that is created by your very own close planetary system is never again subject to short-or long haul increments in power rates  Solar for Businesses Michigan

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